Adidas planning to overtake Nike with posh ad campaign

Adidas is planning to overtake rival company Nike to get to the top spot in sportswear by spending millions on ad campaign, expected to launch next year.

Adidas CEO reportedly vowed to raise the company's marketing budget by 200m Euros, which is about the same margin of its reported operating profits in the second quarter, Adweek reported.

Adidas has been running behind Nike despite record sales of its World Cup football products, which are expected to generate roughly 2.6 billion dollars in sales. Already Adidas has sold a staggering 14 million 'Brazuca' balls, the official World Cup game ball, and more than eight million replica football jerseys, spurred in part by Germany's World Cup win.

Adidas has also signed an exclusive 10-year contract with Manchester United to be the club's shirts and gear sponsor for a reported minimum guarantee of USD 1.25 billion. The deal ends Nike's 12-year partnership with the English football club.

And, last month Adidas announced sponsorship agreements with four of NBA's top draft picks.